


The Abyss Dreams

by bookscorpion



Series: Changing of the Light [4]
Category: Shadowrun, Shadowrun: Hong Kong
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Timelines, Angst, Astral Rift, Developing Friendships, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, Fandom Blind Friendly, Heist, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Smut, lovers separated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:06:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29714157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookscorpion/pseuds/bookscorpion
Summary: Rhys sits up straight in bed. It's dark and quiet. He feels for the light on the bedside table, his heart racing. It had all been a dream.When he finds the switch, warm light fills the room and Rhys turns to Duncan to apologise for waking him. There's no one there. There's not even a second pillow.Duncan and Rhys are both lost, caught in a world that is not their own. Can they find back to their home, and to each other?In the latest chapter:'I think I'm going to lose my job.' Duncan dropped his duffle back on the floor and himself into the deck chair Rhys had hauled up to the roof garden on top of their apartment block.Bad news.
Relationships: Echo & Rhys Morgan, Gobbet & Duncan Wu, Rhys Morgan/Duncan Wu
Series: Changing of the Light [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1266935
Comments: 14
Kudos: 5





	1. Anemone

'Run!' Duncan threw the last of the bottled spells at the guards and tore after Rhys. A very localised sandstorm engulfed the men, peppering Duncan with a short hail of coarse grains. The rest of the garden remained untouched, but that piece of lawn would never be the same.

Rhys had reached the fence and didn't need any help from Duncan scaling it, driven by pure adrenaline. He dropped into a crouch in the decorative shrubbery on the other side. Duncan followed and they took off down the street, away from the luxurious town house where the burglar alarm started blaring, much too late.

A short run down into the subway station, almost empty at this time of night. Walking fast but not running across the platform, and out another entrance to their car.

With Duncan driving through the sparse traffic of London after midnight, Rhys opened his backpack and took out a small orchid plant. It was no longer than Rhys' hand and well packed in a protective plastic case. The violently orange flowers glowed like embers, their peppery scent filling the car even through the plastic.

'That went rather well, I think.' Rhys grinned at Duncan, all tusks and fangs, before dialling a number on his commlink. 'Yes. We have it. Sure, we can do tomorrow. Mmh, we'll be there.'

He wished their Johnson good night and leaned back, the orchid cradled in his arms. 'We have landed that job.'

Duncan gave him a sidelong glance. 'Okay. I admit it. This is fun. Do you really think we can make a business out of it?'

'Don't quit your job just yet, but yes. I think we can.' Rhys spread his hands and read off an imaginary business card. 'Morgan & Wu - Parabotany and Security Consulting. I know a lot of plant collectors, they know me and security _is_ an issue for many of them. I've done a bit of asking around and there are a couple of people who would hire us right away, to consult or to test like this.' He put his hand on Duncan's thigh and squeezed. 'Let's treat it as a nice bit of extra money for now.'

At the apartment, Rhys placed the orchid reverently on the windowsill in the bedroom. It would stay with them, advance payment for the job. Rhys had always collected plants, and he was slowly building up the collection he had lost when leaving Hong Kong with Duncan. Or rather, that he had chosen to leave behind.

Duncan still didn't get sometimes why Rhys had made that choice. He did know Rhys' answer _You. I get you._ Ever since Rhys had picked him up out of the gutter in some dive bar in Kowloon, he had never stopped telling Duncan that it had been a good choice. And by now, Duncan believed him.

It had certainly been good for Duncan. With Rhys' help, he had clawed himself out of the hole he had dug himself, and he had even made up with his brother. Things were good, mostly. Better than Duncan had ever believed they could be. And if this job worked out, even the dark clouds on the horizon wouldn't matter.

Rhys stretched and turned, caught Duncan watching him. He looked him up and down, a slow smile curling his lips.

Taller than Rhys and much broader, Duncan sometimes was self-conscious of how much he presented as the stereotypical ork, and Rhys did not. But it was more than evened out by how clearly Rhys enjoyed Duncan's muscles and strength. And by how much he valued Duncan's thoughts and opinions as well.

'Are you tired?'

Duncan wasn't. The adrenaline from the job had settled on the way back but he didn't feel like sleeping. 'No. You want to do something about that?'

'Come here.' Rhys held out a hand. By now his smile had turned into a grin, his fangs making an appearance.

Discarded clothes marked their way to the bed. Duncan stretched out on his stomach with Rhys straddling him, dripping some oil down his spine and the tense muscles on either side. It was cool and smelled faintly of almonds, drops pooling in the small of his back.

Rhys shifted, leaning forward, running his hands up and down Duncan's back, spreading the oil. He started kneading Duncan's muscles, digging fingers and knuckles into them. The oil warmed quickly under his hands and Duncan relaxed, sinking into the mattress. One after the other, Rhys found and undid the knots and kinks in Duncan's muscles, left there by the stress of the day. Duncan grumbled at the pain when Rhys found yet another one, only to sigh with relief when it smoothed out under Rhys' fingers, leaving a welcome heat behind.

Duncan had nodded off by the time Rhys patted his ass and got up to light a few candles. He turned over lazily to watch, muscles pleasantly tired and aching. Today had been _good_. They had planned this little caper for a week and pulled it off flawlessly. It had started as a bet with the owner of the orchid, a long-time friend of Rhys and collector of plants. A bet that they could steal the plant because Duncan had remarked on her lax security.

It had turned into: try it and if you can, I'll hire you to redo my security. And that had turned into the idea of doing this professionally. Rhys was confident that he could talk people into it and Duncan believed him. He believed it a lot more than he believed he would be keeping his current job, not after having seen the new recruits they had hired, all cybered up and fast. Competing with them would be hard. If he even could do it at all. People these days wanted their hired security to be cybered rather than properly trained. He hadn't told Rhys about this yet. And he didn't plan to, not today.

The mattress dipped when Rhys came to sit with him again, curling his legs under himself. 'Are you okay?'

Sitting up to face him, Duncan carefully pulled the tie out of Rhys' braid, untangled the strands until they fell over Rhys' shoulders in a dark wave. Although not as imposing as Duncan, Rhys still was on the tall side for an ork, long-limbed and slender. In the semi-darkness of the candle lit room, his eyes had taken on a darker shade than their usual greenish hazel.

'I'm fine. Long day, that's all.' Duncan pushed his hands into Rhys hair and gave a gentle pull at the roots until Rhys sighed. The strands were thick and supple between Duncan's fingers, gleaming in the warm light of the candles.

'I missed working with you. We're good together.' Rhys scooted a bit closer until he could lean his forehead against Duncan's. He ran his hands through Duncan's short mohawk, down his neck and traced the muscles on his arms, lingering on the scar his fangs had left there. 'Lie down.'

Duncan did as he was told, stretching out on the bed and showing off for Rhys, muscles rippling under his skin. The hungry look Rhys gave him told him it was working. But Rhys moved without urgency, taking his time while he kissed his way down Duncan's chest and stomach to his thighs, completely avoiding his cock on the way. His hair fell from his shoulders and trailed over Duncan's skin in the wake of the kisses. It slid over the sensitive inner part of his thighs, heavy and soft, dragging over his balls and his cock when Rhys moved up again.

Straddling Duncan's stomach, Rhys let his fingers wander up, circling Duncan's nipples, and gently plucked at the hairs around them. Duncan reached out to put his hands on Rhys' flanks, tracing the tattoos there and on Rhys' arms. In the last few months, the jellyfish and the plant with the moth had gotten some company: a hermit crab and a starfish, a flower Rhys had told him was called Love in the Mist; delicate petals and leaves curling in graceful lines up Rhys' side to just below his arm.

Following the vine up Rhys' neck and down his back, Duncan found the big bear he knew was tattooed there. A symbol of Rhys' mentor spirit, and depiction of his spirit companion Artrí. Living with Rhys meant to sometimes sharing the couch with a spirit bear. It was fine with Duncan.

He could have followed the slightly raised lines even with his eyes closed, but Rhys was too gorgeous in this moment. His skin has taken on a warm glow in the candlelight. The tattoos seemed to float above it, moving when Rhys moved. And he looked at Duncan with a soft, fascinated expression; head cocked to the side while he ran his fingertips over Duncan's face. A touch to the chin, a thumb moving over Duncan's cheekbones and fingers tracing his eyebrows. With his palm cupping Duncan's face, Rhys tenderly followed the line of Duncan's ear.

'You're beautiful, do you know that?' Rhys smiled at him like Duncan was the most precious thing he had ever seen.

Duncan had no idea how to answer that. His first instinct was a joke, but Rhys was too serious, too vulnerable for that. He took a deep breath that turned into tears, choking him. One hand still on Rhys' side, he covered his mouth with the other, turning his face into the pillow. The tears wouldn't stop.

'Shit—' Rhys lay next to him, pulled him into a hug and Duncan huddled in his arms, muffling his crying against Rhys' chest.

For some reason, Rhys had always been good at getting behind Duncan's defenses with just a word or a touch, right from the start. He knew the exact thing to say to make all of Duncan's carefully built walls come crashing down. They weren't quite as high or as thick as they used to be, not where Rhys was concerned. Duncan was sure that this time, Rhys hadn't even intended to do it. Yet here they were, all in ruin.

The familiar spice and incense smell of Rhys and the comfort of his embrace helped, but it took a while before Duncan had calmed down. Rhys rubbed circles on his back and let him cry until there was only the occasional sniffle.

'Sorry.' Duncan's voice was hoarse and he slowly surfaced from the safety of Rhys' hug. 'I didn't mean to spoil things. That was just— too much. I don't know.'

Rhys kissed him deeply, wiping away tears. 'You didn't spoil anything. Talk to me if you want? If not, we can just cuddle.'

'I don't know what I'd do without you.' Duncan moved back a little so he could look at Rhys but not so far that he had to untangle from him. 'I'm so afraid that one day, you'll just be gone.'

'I'm not going anywhere.' Rhys kissed him again.

'I know. That's not what I meant.' Duncan thought, trying to put his fears into words. 'Every time I think I have something good, life takes it away. Not immediately. When I have had time to get used to it and to believe that _this_ time, it's going to work out. That's when everything comes crashing down.'

'I can tell you that I will fight life all the way, as hard as I can if it wants to take you away from me.' Rhys pushed his nose into the crook of Duncan's neck, tusks pressing into the skin just hard enough to leave a mark.

With a long sigh, Duncan pulled him close again. 'I know. And I'm getting better at not worrying about this all the time. The meds help, and just having a _normal_ life with you, every day.'

'More or less normal.' Rhys gave a quiet breathy laughter. 'But never boring. Let's sleep. We have another big day tomorrow.'

Duncan rolled over and Rhys nestled into him, one arm draped over his chest. With a lazy wave of his hand, Rhys conjured up a tiny bear that huffed out the candles and then ambled away into the undergrowth on the windowsill.

Rhys was asleep within minutes, breathing slowly and deeply. Duncan lay awake for a long time in the dark, holding him tight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by [Tyellas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyellas)
> 
> This will update every two weeks. It's the third big Shadowrun story for Duncan and Rhys, after [Out Of the Shadows](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15735564/chapters/36870696) and [Finistère](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18464257/chapters/43744906), but can be read on its own.


	2. Bindweed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _'I think I'm going to lose my job.' Duncan dropped his duffle back on the floor and himself into the deck chair Rhys had hauled up to the roof garden on top of their apartment block._  
>  Bad news.
> 
> Content info in the end notes

'I think I'm going to lose my job.' Duncan dropped his duffle back on the floor and himself into the deck chair Rhys had hauled up to the roof garden on top of their apartment block. Rhys turned from where he was repotting the vine that normally lived on a shelf above their couch. Little tendrils stuck to his skin and he untangled it from his forearm. 

'What do you mean? Did something happen?' As far as Rhys knew, things had been fine. After leaving Hong Kong, Duncan had found work at a private security company. They had valued his experience, even though it was filtered through a fake SIN, and Duncan had seemed happy enough with the work. 

Even sitting down, Duncan gave the impression of barely tamed strength. Boots, cargo pants and a t-shirt that struggled to contain the muscles of his arms, but even more than that the menacing stare Duncan could just switch on gave the impression of being someone people did not want to mess with. He was good at what he did, and he could handle the people who did decide to mess with him. Usually, they regretted it.

And he was _smart_. People underestimated him, especially when he went anywhere with Rhys who looked the part of the clever one to Duncan's muscle. They had stopped being annoyed by it and instead just used it for their purposes.

There had been only silence after Rhys' question. In the warm sunshine, the bees from the hive one roof over were busy gathering pollen. The whole garden was alive with their buzzing, louder than the traffic from below. A couple of pigeons sunbathed at the edge of the roof, cooing softly. In all of this, Duncan sat under his own cloud of gloom. 

Rhys came to sit next to him, crosslegged on the ground. Even Duncan's short mohawk was out of sorts, strands falling to the side. A sure sign that Duncan had been running his fingers through it over and over again. Eyes dark with worry, and jaw set so his tusks were even more obvious than usual, Duncan barely met Rhys' gaze.

'We had tryouts for some new hires a while back. Lots of kids, barely anyone with experience. But they are _fast_ and they hit hard. Cybered up, most of them. The ones we ended up hiring for sure. Cybered security is what people expect. Reaction enhancers, wired reflexes, that kind of shit. I don't want that. It creeps me the fuck out, and I won't sell my body to some corp just for a job. Only for them to kick me out anyway when it's getting too expensive to maintain.' Duncan sat hunched over, fiddling with a piece of thread pulled from the chair. 'I wouldn't want to go up against those kids for real. No matter how much I train, I can't compete.'

Rhys put a hand on Duncan's arm, the muscles tense under his fingers. 'I've seen you hand chromed up street sams their ass. And _you_ have the experience, don't tell me that counts for nothing.'

'Anyone can have skillwires. All that experience, delivered directly into your brain. And cyberware is getting better all the time.' Duncan wouldn't be that easily comforted.

'And you're not, is what you want to say?' Rhys gave Duncan's arm a squeeze. 'I get that. I don't agree, but I can understand. If you ask me, lived experience will always come out on top. No programmed software can beat it, can use it creatively. It will give you the edge you need. And you have a great deal of experience, a whole life worth of it. Nothing these corporate kids can match.'

Duncan smiled wanly, his heart wasn't in it. 'Thank you.' He leaned over to kiss Rhys. 'I guess there is nothing for me to do but wait and do my best.' He stood up and picked up his bag. 'Dinner in two hours?'

His tone made it clear that he was done talking about it for the time being and Rhys knew not to pry. 'If you feel like making spring rolls, I will love you forever.'

That got a much livelier smile out of Duncan and Rhys returned to the vine, untangling it from the garden shears and the pots it had grabbed in the meantime. While he worked, his mind was in overdrive, trying to come up with a plan. Something he could present to Duncan and tell him, don't worry. I've got it all figured out.

Rhys knew that Duncan didn't expect him to. And he couldn't solve everything before it happened. But he never stopped trying. It was how he coped.

When Duncan came home early a week later, Rhys knew what had happened immediately just from the look on Duncan's face. He had probably scattered everyone before him in fright, walking home with that scowl, bristling with anger. Rhys dropped the book he had been reading, and came to meet Duncan halfway through the living room, hugging him.

'Fuck. I fucking knew it.' Duncan pressed his face against Rhys' neck, his arms slung around Rhys' waist. 'I don't even need to come in tomorrow. But I get another week's pay, isn't that great.'

The growl in his voice couldn't hide how miserable he was, not from Rhys. He brushed his hand over Duncan's mohawk, back and forth, squeezing him tight with his other arm.

'I'm sorry. It's not fair, you don't deserve that.' Rhys didn't know what to say, and all his planning hadn't prepared him for this. Duncan leaned into him, heavily enough that Rhys was struggling to support his weight. He took a deep breath, warm against Rhys' neck, and let go of him to flop down on the couch.

'I'm not sure I even want to keep doing security. I just don't know what else I _can_ do. Even if I could be a cop again, I don't think it would sit right with me any longer.' Elbows on the his knees and arms crossed in front of him, Duncan sat with hunched shoulders, staring at the coffee table as if he expected to find answers hidden in the grain of its wood.

'You know, Morgan & Wu do have two more jobs lined up for clients. That will tide us over the worst of it, and we have savings. It'll give us some time. And we have always only looked for jobs that could be done on the side while you are working full time." Sitting next to Duncan, Rhys offered his hand palm up, and Duncan took it. It broke the defensive wall he had built with his posture, relaxing his shoulders the tiniest bit.

"Do you really think we can pull that off?" Duncan gave Rhys' hand a squeeze, looking up at him from the side. 

"I don't know, but I think we should try. We make a good team, and word _has_ gotten around. I can contact a few people I turned down because the work they wanted done would have cost too much time." Rhys was half off the couch, bouncing his leg. He wanted to do these calls right now, fix everything. Not that he could, not with a few calls. This would take time, and patience. But Rhys couldn't help it - it was a way forward, and he wanted to see where it would lead.

Duncan pulled him back, wrapped him in his arms. It brought Rhys back to the moment, back from the excitement of a new adventure. He nestled into Duncan, breathing in his scent of clean skin and the smell of salt and eucalyptus, still clinging to Duncan from his morning shower. 

"Let's give it a try. I'd rather try this than anything else I can think of. I'm tired of the pressure. _Just a small reaction enhancer. The bonus pay alone is worth it, you'll see_. Fuck that. I don't want that shit in my body. And I don't want to get hurt or killed because the company hires these kids with all the chrome and none of the experience." Duncan squeezed Rhys hard enough to make all the air leave his lungs at a rush before letting go, holding him with both hands on Rhys' waist.

Rhys smiled and reached up to brush Duncan's mohawk back into form. "It's decided, then. How about dinner and dessert, for now? We still have some mochi ice cream."

A nip from Duncan's tusks to his neck made him jump, and Duncan's hands slipped from his waist to his ass. "Alright. Dinner, mochi ice cream, and then dessert."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content info:  
> Angst   
> Unemplyoment
> 
> Beta read by [Tyellas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyellas) \- thank you!


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